It has been recognized that toothbrush should be replaced on a regular basis since brushhead harbor germs after a period of use. While the entire toothbrush can be replaced, it is more economical to replace only the bristle head and retain the neck and the handle portions of the toothbrush to reduce waste of material. To maximize the value of the permanent neck and handle portions, it is desirable to utilize these permanent portions to store and dispense dentifrice material to the bristle head. For the ease of operation by handicapped persons, it is desirable to use a pushbutton to dispense dentifrice material. It is also desirable to attach gum-guard elements to the permanent neck portion for massaging gums.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pump toothbrush having an integrated dispensing platform for repeated uses and a replaceable bristle-head part for minimal disposal.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,789,583 by Kuo describes a pump toothbrush including a pump head having an outlet connector, a brushhead attached to the outlet connector, and a cartridge containing dentifrice material. The detachable brushhead has a platform having bristles and a built-in flow channel attached with a slit spout. The flow channel is connected with the flow channel of the outlet connector of the pump head when the brushhead is mounted on the outlet connector to dispense dentifrice material through the slit spout to the bristles. The built-in slit spout in the brushhead presents manufacturability problem in the implanting of bristles around the spout due to tight space between the spout and the bristles. Also, the fact that the bristles and the base being of plastic material, which is recyclable, and the slit spout being of rubber material, which is non-recyclable, makes the whole brushhead a non-recyclable item. Furthermore, the neck portion adds significant amount of material to be thrown away with the brushhead.
For massaging and protecting gums U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,048 by Kuo describes a toothbrush utilizing a replaceable brush head having rubber gum guards on the peripheral edges of its bristle platform. The rubber gum guards are shorter than the height of the outer bristles to function as sensors for providing feedback to prevent brushing at excessive pressures and improper angles as well as for massaging the gumlines without the risk of gum damages. However the molded-in rubber gum guards add to the cost of the brush head. Therefore, it is desirable to have a pump toothbrush using a replaceable bristle head with a design configuration to enable manufacturability and minimal space required for the slit spout for dispensing the dentifrice material. It is desirable to have a pump toothbrush to minimize the amount of material for disposal. It is also desirable to keep the rubber gum-guard elements as part of the pump head for long term use, not disposed with the bristle head.
3. Objects of the Invention
An object of the present invention is to provide a pump toothbrush having a permanent dispensing platform to dispense dentifrice material to a replaceable bristle head for minimal disposal. It is another objective to attach gum guard elements to the periphery of the dispensing platform surrounding the disposable bristle head for massaging gum lines.